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Minutes of
the 22nd AGM of the Langeleben Reunion Branch
Held at the
Avalon Hotel, Königslutter-am-Elm
on the 29th
August 2015 at 11:00 hours.
INTRODUCTION:
The meeting
was attended by 46 members and proceedings were opened
at 10:56 hours by our Chairman, Rod Goddard, who
welcomed everyone to the branch AGM, especially our
guest, the Bürgermeister of Königslutter Am Elm, Herr.
Alexander Hoppe. The chairman then read out the Kohima
Epitaph and the meeting held a minute’s silence for our
fallen comrades, as the branch standard was lowered by
our standard bearer Tom Neal.
APOLOGIES:
The
Secretary, Clive Sanders, read out the apologies of
those members who for various reasons were unable to
attend.
MINUTES
OF 21st AGM:
The minutes
of the 21st AGM, having been previously been circulated
on the branch website and in the Listening Post, were
taken as read by the meeting. There were no matters
arising.
PRESIDENT’S
ADDRESS:
In the
absence of our President, Major General Peter Baldwin,
our Vice-President, Rodney Goddard, read the following
address on his behalf:
“There must
be many of you who are wondering whether this old fellow
they call “The President” actually exists. I can confirm
that he sits miserably at home, conscious that he is
missing yet another splendid reunion of a group of
people who, through a common interest, formed close
friendships, which will sustain them over the years
ahead.
I have
always regarded the Y Services as a close-knit family,
who shared a joint interest in the work they were doing
and the sporting trophies they won.
I am
writing to ask you to express my disappointment for
something that I think is going to dog the months or
years to come. Never the less, both Gail and I will be
thinking of you as you visit familiar places and enjoy
one anothers’ company in the evenings. We shall miss
you.”
VICE-PRESIDENT’S
ADDRESS:
The
Vice-President, Rod Goddard, then gave an address on the
future structures of both the Royal Corps of Signals and
the Intelligence Corps. He also spoke on the importance
of our annual meetings and emphasized that the influence
of our reunions is becoming more essential in this age
of modern communications.
BŰRGERMEISTER’S
ADDRESS:
The
Bürgermeister of Königslutter, Herr. Alexander Hoppe,
gave an address to the meeting, translated by John
Richardson, in which he again welcomed the branch to the
town and reminded everyone of the long friendly
association between Langeleben veterans and the town.
TREASURER’S
REPORT:
Clive
Sanders, on behalf of our Treasurer, John Rosson, read
the Treasurer’s report on the branch’s current financial
situation. This showed that for the year ending 31 Dec
2014, the branch finances continued to be in a very
healthy state. The branch started 2014 with an opening
balance of £4360.98p and at the end of the year, the
closing balance stood at £4457.58p.
SECRETARY’S
REPORT:
The Branch
Secretary, Clive Sanders, started his report by thanking
John Richardson, the branch’s Königslutter reunion
coordinator, for the wonderful job he had done in
arranging this year’s reunion. He also thanked Heini
Feddeck, Ilona Hawxwell and Horst Funke for their help
with admin support for the reunion. He reported that the
branch now consisted of 451 members and asked the
Chairman to welcome and hand a Life Membership
certificate to our latest new member, John Evans. He
also thanked Tom Perkin, our web-site manager and
Marlene Brooks, the editor of our association magazine,
the Listening Post, for the continuing excellent work
they are doing to support our association. Clive ended
by saying that he hoped everyone liked the Identity
Badges he had made for this year’s reunion and asked
everyone to hand then back to him before they departed.
ELECTION
OF OFFICERS:
There being
no vacancies in the committee there was no Election of
Officers.
ANY
OTHER BUSINESS:
The
Secretary, Clive Sanders, started AOB by asking for a
volunteer to provide a home for the association’s
banner, coffin drape and glass insignia. Mike Sposito
generously volunteered to look after these important
association emblems.
Clive next
suggested that the branch should make a donation to the
Bürgermeister of Königslutter to be passed on to a local
charity of his choice. He suggested the sum of 100 Euros
should be donated. After some discussion it was proposed
by Ted Roberts and seconded by Dennis Weir that the sum
of 1000 Euros be donated to the Bürgermeister's charity.
This proposal received unanimous support from all the
members. The Bürgermeister thanked everyone for such a
generous donation. (Note:- It was afterwards confirmed
by the Bürgermeister that the donation would be given to
the Support Group of the Rudolf Diesel school for
children with special needs.)
Clive then
informed branch members of the 50 Year Badge awarded by
the Royal Signals Association to members who complete 50
service to the Corps, which can consist of Regular Army
service, TA service and Active service to the
Association or its branches. Gerry Kane already had
received the badge and Dennis Weir has applied for the
award.
Peter
Hailey asked whether hats may be worn on the
Schützenfest Parade, as the weather forecast was for a
very sunny day with temperatures reaching 33 degrees
centigrade. This was supported by all the members and it
was decided that hats should be worn to give some
protection from the sun.
2016
REUNION:
The
provisional dates for the 2016 Loughborough reunion were
agreed as 9th-11th September 2016.
END OF
MEETING:
The meeting
closed at 11:40 hours.
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